Sunday 29 January 2017

Being watched

Image by Manon Bellet
Pleased to have this poem pubished recently by the lovely ekphrastic anthology Visual Verse (see links at bottom of this post)

Being watched

her chemise
lands in a whisper
        of silk on slate


clear shadows slant on the wall
where afternoon sun finds
       gaps in blinds


       she knows he watches
       so she spins


turns in a whirl
       of sun and shadows


dust motes drift
        her skirts swirl
              and fall


her hands snake in a rhythm
only she can feel


heat pricks her neck
       the blush of her knowing
       shows in her face


and sweat cools
       making a dampness
               on her back





http://visualverse.org/submissions/being-watched/


http://visualverse.org/about-visual-verse/

The quickening



I love this time of year – when the darkest time is behind us and the days get lighter and longer.
At the end of January/beginning of February we are at the halfway point between the darkest days of the year and the spring equinox. This time is known as the quickening. February 1st is also Brighed’s day and the first day of the Celtic spring. Brighed  is the Celtic patron of poets, bards, healers, creativity and fire. In this poem I mention some of the traditions associated with her and with this time of year.

The quickening

Hang sprigs of rowan
from the quickening tree,
decorate the doors;
bring branches of willow
to signal this time of change –
and of dreaming.

Collect leaves of blackberry to
attract prosperity and healing;
coltsfoot to move us
toward love and peace;
ginger to raise the fire within
and guide the serpent.

Snowdrops are her first gift of spring,
the lambs’ cry the first sound.
As blackthorn blooms
and the owl’s call fades,
now comes the quickening.
Welcome returning light,

this feast of torches.
Light the flames,
set every lamp, raise all the candles.
Brighed stands at the halfway.
Cloaked in white and silver
she shimmers like a flame on the bridge –

at the precise point between
the darkest day and equal night.
Patron of poets and Bards,
she brings the fire of creativity
and stirs the serpent’s energy.
Let her dismiss the darkness.

Tuesday 3 January 2017

Breath


(January 1, 2017)


Up here on the hill, a north-easterly

with ice on its edges

                cuts through

all the way from the Arctic into my bones.



Cold bites in corners — there is no nibbling;

teeth go deep,

                clear sharp bites

sink into the core  to catch the breath.



A bitter sting in the face hardens shivers on skin,

pulls hairs on end as she hauls and thrusts

                her currents

through the layers of my body.



Fresh new air, the cool of new year air,

is driven into my lungs.



And old clouds of grey vapour

                disappear into distance.